Time is really picking up speed. My friend Hannah's visit is upon me already, which means that my time in France is quickly coming to an end (at least for now). I am headed to Paris tomorrow to pick her up, and we'll be spending a luxurious day wandering the streets of the older neighborhoods of Paris, sitting in cafés and munching on delicious pastries and Parisian street food (and as she keeps reminding me, drinking coffee!). Her visit will also include (if all goes as planned) a trip to Chenonceau, a nearby castle, the light show at the Blois castle, a few evenings out, shopping, and lots of Erin-Hannah fun.
Thursday, my choir is having a concert at the retirement home, so Hannah will also be attending that. We're singing several wonderful songs, mostly in French, but also in English, Spanish, and Breton. Here are some links for your listening pleasure:
Mon Amant de Saint-Jean (My Lover from Saint-Jean)
C'est de l'eau (It's All Water)
L'embellie (The Sun Breaking Through the Clouds)
Kookaburra
A la claire fonatine créole (At the Clear Créole Fountain)
I only have two and a half weeks of teaching left. I've been doing pets with the younger kids and action verbs with the older kids. Everyone seems to be getting antsy as the weather turns more and more springy, so I've been having discipline issues again. Today, however, I've had two successful classes, so perhaps there's hope. I'm now trying to decide what I want my last lesson with these kids to be.
Two weeks ago, I went to the nearby engineering school to find out if there were any job openings for English assistants and ended up bumping into Marie, an Australian English professor whose been in France for over 30 years. She welcomed me into her classroom, and I've been a visitor twice now. She's really nice and is helping me with my French job search. I have a couple of leads for a job in France, but nothing solid yet. I shift back and forth between enthusiastic hope and a strong desire to give up and go home. We'll see what happens.
This past weekend Blois celebrated Carnaval. I'm not exactly sure what we were celebrating as it's too late for Mardi Gras, but it was cool nonetheless. This year's theme was something about the living dead, so that was rather creepy, but otherwise it was good fun. I watched the parade which consisted of many be-costumed adults and children and had confetti thrown in my face by several little kids. Then I had to get back to my room to talk with my parents, but I definitely heard "Thriller" being played really loudly over the speakers, so I'm hoping there was a major "Thriller" dance party in the middle of the street.
Harriet, Amy, and I are shuffling to check all those things we haven't seen/done yet off our lists. This mainly involves castle visits. Later this month, I'm hoping we'll rent some bikes, grab Suzie, and go for a Loire River tour by bike, seeing castles along the way.
Harriet and I have booked our Chunnel tickets for London (fun fact: the Brits don't call the Chunnel the Chunnel), and I've reserved a bed at an awesome hostel in the heart of London and purchased a London guide book. Getting excited!
Mainly, I'm just shocked by how fast the time has gone. Can this year really almost be over? More to come.
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